Sleep Peacefully
by Falcon Strife
Summary: -Oneshot- Manta answers a familiar call for companionship.


**Title**: Sleep Peacefully  
**Rating**: PG  
**Genre**: General/Drama  
**Summary**: Manta answers a familiar call for companionship . One-shot.  
**A/N**: I've been thinking about this for about a week, and finally got it out! There are hints of HaoTa, YoTa, and MosuDaru, but they are **NOT **implied pairings, so YoNa fans and anybody who doesn't like slash, this is safe.

* * *

...

Manta wandered silently through the canyon, his heart beating more quickly than usual. "This feeling..." he murmured softly. "Somebody is calling me. How do I have such a feeling?" He came to a stop and looked around. "Why do I have such a feeling?" His gaze found a cave in the side of the canyon, and then he took a deep breath while walking towards it. He knew he shouldn't. He had to be getting back with the others. But for the last two nights, he had felt somebody calling him, and it had been becoming stronger each day.

The blonde froze once he had entered the cave. He had been hit with several different things when he entered, but there were two that stuck out. The first, and weaker of the two, was a feeling of familiarity. He knew the aura belonged to somebody he knew, but it was different, as if the person had completely changed themselves. The other aura was one that Manta had lived with most of his life, and was far more intense than the first feeling. This one, was an intense feeling of loneliness.

"So... You did come..."

Manta's eyes widened slightly at the sudden voice, and then he looked around. "Who's there? What do you want?" After a moment of silence, Manta began taking slow steps, further into the cave. "Please. Why were you calling me?"

"I... I don't want to be alone."

Slowly Manta looked around, squinting in the dark, until he found a figure slumped against the cave wall. After a moment of hesitation, he walked over, a sympathetic feeling forming for the person. Whoever he was, Manta could tell by his voice that he was injured badly. "Who are you?" He became still, recognizing the form, suddenly.

"Do not run, Manta," he murmured softly, and then he looked up. "Please."

"H-H-Hao..." The blonde said shakily while stepping back. "I thought you... I mean... What do you..."

The teen looked silently at Manta, his eyes distant and his face pale from loss of blood. His hair hung limp around his face, which was covered in scars. "Please... don't go..."

Manta stared shakily at the boy, confused to see him in such an awful state. "Wh-why are you just sitting here? Why don't you get help?"

He shook his head slowly. "Even... if I had the strength... who would help me?"

Manta was quiet for a moment, and then walked over. "Well... I'll get help for you."

"That's... not why I called you..."

Manta cringed as Hao moved an arm around, expecting an attack, but was partially relieved when an attack never came. He stared confusedly as the shaman pulled him close and held him. "Hao... What are you doing? What do you want?"

There was another moment of silence, and then Hao sighed. "Just... a friendly face."

Once again there was silence, and then slowly Manta rest his head against Hao's chest, feeling sorry for the shaman when he heard Hao's heart beat was weak and irregular. He looked up slightly as Hao placed him in his lap, and then once again rest his head against Hao's chest. "Why would you want me around?" he murmured. "I thought you hated humans..."

The brunette laughed softly. "There's always an exception..." He grasped one of the smaller hands lightly. "You're... different... Why do you think I let you stay with Opacho and I?"

Manta was quiet for a moment, and then he felt a tear run down his face, remembering that Opaho had abandoned Hao.

"I don't know why I was so terrible to him," Hao said softly. "He was my only friend, and I made him abandon me when I needed him the most..."

Manta was quiet as Hao's free hand stroked his hair gently.

"I did that the last time," he sighed quietly. "I was terrible to Matamune, and he abandoned me when I needed him."

"Hao..." Manta was quiet for a while, and then looked up slowly. "Why me?"

Hao looked down slowly. "I... I knew you wouldn't leave me alone," he said quietly, and then slowly he hugged the younger boy. "I knew if you did come, you wouldn't leave me alone." He nuzzled his face into the silky golden locks. "Just once... I don't want to be alone when I die."

Manta felt more tears run down his face as Hao held onto him, understanding what it was like to be alone and abandoned. Tears became more and more frequent as the minutes melted into hours of just sitting there in Hao's almost childish embrace, listening to his heart continue to slow.

"I think... I can rest now," Hao murmured after hours of silence. "Thank you, Manta-kun..."

"Hao..." Manta whispered, continuing to cry silently for the shaman, and then looked up slowly when Hao's heart refused to beat any more. He looked up slowly, and then he felt and heard himself let out a loud sob when he saw the peaceful expression on Hao's face. He took a couple minutes to calm himself, and then gave the shaman a hug. "Sleep peacefully... Hao-kun," he whispered, and then reluctantly left the cave.

---

"Manta, where are you?!" Yoh cried loudly. He had been searching for at least three hours now, and it was drawing closer to sunrise. He had awaken much earlier in the night and found his friend was gone, and since then he had been drawing closer and closer to panicking. Just as he was about to go looking to see if his friends had had any luck in finding Manta, he heard small little steps. He looked back, and sighed in relief when he saw Manta walking towards him. "Manta!"

The blonde came to a stop and looked up quietly for a moment, and then he felt hot tears threatening to flow once more.

"Manta, what happened?!" Yoh cried as he ran over, and then knelt down quickly. "Manta... Manta, why is there blood on you?!"

"Yoh-kun..." Manta murmured softly, and then looked down.

Yoh cupped the boy's face in his hands and forced him to look at him. "Manta, what happened? Are you okay? Did somebody hurt you? Were you scared?"

"Yoh-kun..." Manta replied after a few moments.

The brunette tilted his head slightly. "Manta, are you okay?"

"Yoh-kun... Promise you won't leave me alone," the blonde said, his voice shaking.

Yoh sighed while looking at him worriedly. "Manta, I won't ever leave you alone. I promise."

Manta stared quietly for a moment, and then finally he hugged Yoh tightly. "Y-Yoh-kun!"

Yoh looked at Manta confusedly. Manta wasn't one for hugging or crying, and finding the blonde with a combination of the two made him worried. He returned the hug warmly, and then stood while holding Manta carefully in his arms. He began walking back quickly to where his friends had been camping, every now and then looking at Manta worriedly, who had by this time cried himself to sleep.

By the time he reached the camp site, everybody else was there, awaiting his return.

"You found Little Brother!" Ryu cried in relief before anybody else had a chance to see Yoh was back.

"Geez," Ren snapped. "Where on Earth did he disappear to?!"

"I... I don't know," Yoh replied softly while sitting down. "I was just coming back when I found him. He wouldn't really talk much."

"Is he alright?" Horo demanded, noticing the dried blood.

"I... I think so. I haven't seen any wounds."

"Lay him down and I'll check him," Faust said quietly.

"Alright," he replied, but when he attempted to lay Manta down, then blonde held on to him more tightly with a whimper. "He... He won't let go," he said while looking up.

"Did he say anything?" Anna asked coolly, masking her own anxious feelings for the boy's wellbeing.

Yoh was thoughtful for a moment, and then looked up. "Not really. He... He asked me to not leave him alone, and then he just started crying until he fell asleep."

Amidamaru appeared suddenly with a sad expression. "I think... I know what may have happened."

The shamans and other spirits looked to Amidamaru expectantly.

"You see... When I was twelve, I came across a girl," he explained slowly. "She was alone when I found her, and... Well, I ended up staying with her for a day before she died. There wasn't anybody else. I had similar feelings towards Mosuke that Manta had towards you, Yoh-dono. I remember clearly asking Mosuke not to leave me alone."

"So then you're saying that Manta was somebody who just died?" Chocolove asked.

"That's so sad," Tamao and Lyserg stated in unison.

"It would explain the blood, and if he's never been close to a dying person, it would explain his behavior," Jun said quietly as Pailong nodded in agreement.

For a while there was a thoughtful silence, and then Syruba sighed. "He's young, and based on what I know of him, I'm guessing he has difficulties with his emotions, the way Ren does."

"What?!" Ren snapped.

"However," Syruba said with a frown, "Ren is more aggressive while Manta is passive. My guess is, after all that happened before, and whatever he just went through tonight, he's finally just broke down. He should be fine before long. In the mean time, he should rest."

"Very well, then," Anna said. "It's time we got moving. Yoh can carry Manta. It'll be good to strengthen his neck and arms."

Yoh smiled weakly. Cuddling his best friend. This was a type of training he could get used to.

The others nodded in agreement, and then after gathering their stuff they resumed their journey back towards civilization.

Manta awoke momentarily once they began walking, and looked sleepily towards the canyon. There stood the spirit of Asakura Hao, waving with a smile. Manta smiled weakly when the teen mouthed 'thank you', and then waved slightly at Hao before closing his eyes and drifting back to sleep.

Yoh looked down with a weak smile feeling his friend stir slightly, and then moved one arm to carefully rub Manta's back. "It'll be alright, Manta," he said softly, and then looked ahead, never noticing when his brother's spirit crossed over to Heaven.


End file.
